Jana Lannen

From:
Levice, Slovakia
Current City:
San Francisco, CA

"You should write down your dreams and then take the steps to reach them. This country will allow you to fulfill all your dreams, just be proactive and certain about what you want and everything else will fall in place."

When she was seven years old, Jana Lannen was looking at a world map with her father and asked if they would ever visit the United States. He told her with absolute certainty that she would go for sure. Jana’s parents always encouraged her to be proactive, ambitious, and go after her dreams.

Jana was born in Slovakia—a part of Czechoslovakia at the time—and grew up during the country’s socialist regime. She graduated from Matej Bel University where she completed a Bachelor’s in Economics. During her studies, she fell in love with a Peace Corps volunteer from Texas. After they were married, they decided to go to the U.S. together.

In 2002, she relocated to Dallas with her husband. She had difficulty finding a job without any work experience and considered finding a “survival job”—a low-wage, low-skill job that is necessary for economic survival. However, Jana decided that with her education, language skills, and natural ambitions she will pursue her career dreams that she has had since high school. She knew that she had to start from the beginning in the desired industry, but eventually will make her way up while keeping her goal in mind and having fun along the way.

Jana continued her education at an international university in Mexico City. Afterwards, she moved to Prague, Czech Republic with her husband where they stayed for five years before deciding to return to the U.S. Currently, Jana works at the headquarters for one of the largest banks in the world as a business analyst. She lives in San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and son.